Endoscopic removal of a fish bone foreign body in the hypopharynx with the modified Killian's method.

Observing the entire circumference of the hypopharynx is usually difficult because most of the area is anatomically closed in the resting state. The modified Killian's method, consisting of a combination of the modified Killian position, head torsion, and the Valsalva maneuver, is a recently proposed procedure to improve the endoscopic view of the hypopharynx. A fish bone, which was invisible under regular endoscopy but was identified by CT, was successfully observed and removed under the modified Killian's method in a 71-year-old female. This method can be applied to diagnose and treat benign hypopharyngeal disease such as fish bone foreign body in addition to the detection of cancer.